Godly Initiative
by FictionQuxxn
Summary: When Evelyn Stark, daughter of billionaire Tony Stark, is drafted into Project Pegasus by Nick Fury, (Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.) her world changes forever. She joins the Avengers on their quest to protect Earth from the tyrannical dealings of Loki, but when he helps her as no-one else can, can Evelyn really give up the man who makes up her world? T for swears and whiskey... (lol)
1. Chapter 1

**_One_**

"Miss Evelyn! Do you have any word on what your father is so busy with? Can I just-"

"Miss, over here please, I-"

"For Fox News Miss St-"

"J, can you bring the car around?" I asked quietly, carefully pushing through the crowd of news reporters and paparazzi.

"Of course, Miss Evelyn. Would you like me to arrange the usual?" came the soft voice, with a faint British lilt.

"Much appreciated..." I murmured, finally breaking through the sea of bodies. I hefted my leather jacket more securely onto my shoulders, shoving my hands into the pockets of my Levi's. As I walked further down the road, my glossy cyan Lamborghini Huracan slid up beside me, still in cruise mode as the door opened. I swung my combat boot clad leg into the car, and sat down, the door closing closely behind me.

"How was your day, Miss Evelyn?" The soft vaguely mechanical voice filled the car, soothing my abused eardrums.

"Just peachy, J. Aside from the 'papz', no-one bothered me. I even took a few selfies with my adoring fans," I smiled, as I remembered the girls that had recognised me in the mall.

"That's lovely, Miss. Your father is calling. Shall I connect him?"

"Yep." My dad's dancing eyes, and immaculate facial hair greeted me, the video feed sliding into view on my blacked out windscreen. He grinned at me, and I smiled back.

"Evie, how was your day?"

"You and Jarvis are scarily similar," I teased, sticking my tongue out at him. He replicated the gesture, and was back to being serious again.

"I got the news from Jarvis about the sharks. You didn't get hurt did you?"

"Jarvis would have gotten me out of danger if there was any. The cameras and mics being shoved into your face just get tedious after a while. Then again, daughter of 'billionaire philanthropist' Tony Stark: danger's in the job description!"

"I may have to rewrite the contract then, sweetie. Jarvis is bringing you home, right?"

"Yes, Dad! Honestly, I went shopping, not... doing whatever you do! Seriously, I'll talk to you when I get back. I'm just about to stop off for my mocha."

"Right, girly things. I'll see you at the tower, Evie. Love you."

"Yeah yeah, Dad. Mushy old man..." I muttered, as the call cut off. "J, how far are we away from Starbucks?"

"Approximately six feet, Miss Evie. Shall I mount the sidewalk?"

"Oh J, you're brilliant. I'll be right back." I hopped out, pushing my shades on top of my wavy brown hair. I walked quickly into Starbucks, shooting smirks at some of my favourite members of staff. I stepped up to the short queue, and people hurried out of my way as they recognised me. I heard the whispers, and the clicking of cell cameras.

"It's Evelyn Stark..!" hissed one of the women behind me. I just smiled, and waved people back in front of me.

"Honestly, get back in the line. My dear papa may throw his weight around, but I'm slightly more civilised," I smirked, and cocked a brow as no-one moved. "Really people, I don't bite!" They chuckled awkwardly, and shuffled in front of me. I just hummed to myself, looking around the room, smiling at the phone lenses pointed my way. It was my turn at last, and my best friend, and barista Naadia smiled at me.

"Let me guess, Stark: White chocolate mocha, with semi-skimmed milk, a triple chocolate shot, and no sugar?" She smirked when she was finished, crossing her arms over her apron. I pretended to be shocked, putting my dainty hands, with long, meticulously manicured nails, on my chest, mouth falling open.

"Naad, how could you tell?!" I gasped, blinking at her while I grinned. She just rolled her eyes, and reached behind her, bringing a customised flowery coffee cup into sight. She placed a little bag of caramel wafers next to the cup, and I put $10 into her outstretched hand. "Keep the change. Call me sometime, babe, or I'll get my butler to hunt you down!" I threatened over my shoulder, gliding out of the shop with my sustenance.

"Back to Stark Tower?" was all Jarvis offered when I was finally in the car.

"Please, J. I need to try and get some sleep before I head over to the bunker. Fury'll keep me up at all hours trying to monitor that dumb cube," I grumbled, nibbling on a wafer.

"I wish you all the best, Miss Evie," said Jarvis, pulling the car away from the sidewalk. I kicked back, drinking coffee, and eating the little sugary snacks. Call me a spoiled brat, but... No, wait, that's just what I am.

"Stupid, motherfucking, cocksucking, son of a-"

"Biscuit?" I supplied, waltzing into the room. My dad cursed to himself, and pushed away from his computer bay.

"Hi, Evie," he said tiredly, running a hand roughly over his face. "The programming for the suit is giving me problems and-" A soft musical voice said 'Operation Complete' and a green light pulsed softly on the screens behind him. He looked to me astonished, and I was closing down a display of what he had been working on. "How-?"

"There were a couple lines of code refusing to override the base protocol, which was causing a ripple effect throughout the whole system. I just fiddled with them, and... Boom! Functioning program!" I beamed at him, and danced forwards, snagging his coffee cup from his desk. I downed it, then placed the mug back onto the stack of paper it had been resting on.

"Evie, how in the-?"

"I'm your daughter," I said slowly, as if he were stupid. He was far from it, but it bugged him nonetheless. "You really need to wind down, Pops. My old man usually would have picked that up within seconds. Let me see..." My dad stood, and cracked his back while I pulled up a mid-air display. I crowed with victory, and put my finger to one of the titles on the holographic screen.

AC/DC's 'Back in Black' blared through the lab, and I grabbed my dad's hands, and pulled him away from his chair and workbench. I slid my shades back onto my eyes, and started to rock out. My dad's eyes lit up, and he joined me, and we just messed around for a few minutes, pulling off crazy rocker poses, and even knee slides in an attempt to out-do the other.

A cough came from the elevator, and we whirled around, still holding onto air-guitars. A grim looking S.H.I.E.L.D. agent stood in front of us, with a painful looking half-smile on his face.

"Coulson," muttered my dad, at the same time I crowed,

"Agent!" I flew forwards, and hugged the man, deliberately making him uncomfortable. He patted my back, even though he remained stiff, and I chuckled evilly. "Nice to see you again, Agent. What's the occasion?"

"Director Fury requested that you travel to base as soon as is humanly possible. The Tesseract's power levels have started to fluctuate, and Selvig is getting jumpy."

"Oh, and there I was, foolishly thinking that you wanted to talk to me, Agent..." I pouted, and Phil sighed. He held out a packet of gum, and I immediately brightened, and stuck a piece in my mouth, chewing at a rapid rate.

"Only way to shut her up," Phil said, looking at my dad. "Good to see you again, Stark."

"Sure thing, 'My first name is Agent'," grumbled dad, moving back over to his workstation.

"Jarvis, can you pack my bag?" I called, looking at the ceiling.

"Already done, Miss."

"And the... ahem... _Project_... bag, as well?" I asked mysteriously, ignoring the glares my papa was shooting me.

"That too. Anything else, Miss?"

"Yes, Jarv. Agent, do you have a problem travelling in one of my... toys?" I asked, blowing a huge pink bubble as I turned to look at my two favourite men in the world.

"No, Ms Stark. As long as the truck can drive behind it." The bubble popped, and I snared the sticky strands easily.

"Well, we won't exactly be driving..." I grinned evilly. "Jarvis, bring out... _Tiny_..."

"I see why you call it 'Tiny'..." mused my dad, running his fingers absently over his goatee.

"That's what she said," I quipped, still pulverising the piece of gum in my mouth. Coulson just stood there impassively, looking at the remote control jet fighter.

"So how exactly is this thing going to carry you two possibly across the country to some mysterious location?" grouched my dad, glaring at me. Coulson cocked a brow, and looked at me too.

"Watch well, ye of little faith!" I announced, pulling a little glass device out of my pocket. I powered it up, and swiped a few things, and the jet whirred to life, lifting into the air of miniscule air thrusters. I grinned, and tapped a few more commands onto the little rectangle. The jet spun, and shot off, pulling off a few loop-to-loops, and barrel rolls. I turned it to face the Stark Tower Helipad on which we stood, and then I said, "Engorgio."

The plane glowed a blinding white, and there was a whirring sound, as the aircraft started to expand. Metal pieces spun and moved, grating back over each other, as the plane re-built itself. It only took about twenty seconds, but it seemed longer, as I watched the nanobots rearrange themselves. A full sized fighter hovered in front of us at last, and I grinned, slipping the remote back into my pocket. I turned to the men behind me, and bowed, still beaming. My dad's mouth was hanging open, and Coulson looked vaguely impressed.

"Harry Potter?" he asked, and I nodded.

"Yup," I said, popping the 'p'.

"That was all you got from that whole thing?!" spluttered Dad, gesturing wildly at the plane. I just rolled my eyes, and waved him off, scoffing.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. probably has cooler toys. Project Pegasus will have some, and I'll get to see!" I squealed, and jumped around.

"Fine, just make me jealous..." He pouted, and looked down. I flew into his arms, nuzzling my face into the warm, humming metal power core in the centre of his chest. I closed my arms around his neck, and squeezed him.

"Sorry Dad. I'll be home soon. Keep out of trouble, please! If you don't Pepper will crucify the both of us. Love you."

"Love you too Evelyn. I'll see you in... a week? Jarvis will look after me. If you end up hurt, Fury will lose his other eye... Cappiche?"

"Cappiche," I said, pulling away. "Come on then Agent! Time to get this show on the road!" I waved once more to my dad, who was standing there, hands deep in his jean's pockets, wearing an adorkable Black Sabbath t-shirt over a long sleeved gray tee, and pulled Coulson after me into the plane.

"Don't assault Director Fury again, please Ms Stark..." Coulson muttered, leading me down a hallway, offering me more bubblegum as a bribe.

"No promises Agent!" I trilled jumping around behind him, with too much energy because of all the sugar I had consumed. He sighed heavily, and kept walking. Roughly ten minutes later, after multiple elevator rides and long echoing corridors, we arrived in the Tessaract storage bay/lab. I saw Nick Fury standing with a smart looking Maria Hill at his side, talking quietly about some classified 'Phase 2', or something like that. I took the opportunity and launched myself at his back, clinging onto him, arms going around his neck.

"Ms Stark," he said without missing a beat. Agent Hill stared at me aghast, and I winked at her.

"'Sup Hill Valley?" I asked, smirking at her. She looked extremely confused, and so I elaborated. "I give everyone from S.H.I.E.L.D. nicknames. How're things by the way, Patches?" I nudged Fury, and he sighed tiredly.

"I will be happy to explain if you come down, and talk like a normal person..." I thought about it. That _seemed_ fair... "And you will have unlimited access to all the gum you want, and-"

"Deal!" I said, jumping down. He turned to face me, and I pointed at his face. "But don't you ever assume that I'm normal, or capable of being so: We Starks are far from ordinary!"

"Understood. Now, Ms Stark-"

"Oh, call me Evelyn, Patches, we're besties!"

"Okay then... Evelyn. We have a top-notch astrophysicist working with us to monitor the Tesseract's power levels, but they have recently started to fluctuate for no apparent reason. We assume something is affecting it, and whether it's something on this planet or something from another ream entirely, we aren't sure. Would you like to come and take a look?"

"Love to Patches. Agent, can you sort out my bags?" I asked, turning to Phil.

"They're being unloaded as we speak. You have a room to yourself, Ms Stark."

"Cheers, Agent. Lead the way Patches!" I called, pointing towards the door he had indicated. They all sighed and led me forwards. We walked for a minute or so, and emerged into a little room full of monitors, with a gangly man sitting in front of them.

"Dr Selvig, this is Ms Stark, our tech expert," introduced Fury, extending a hand to me. I nodded absently at the man who had spun around. My eyes were glued to the glowing blue cube, mesmerised by how it pulsed and roiled. I walked closer to the glass, pressing my hands and face to the viewing window, dazed as I watched the pulsing glow pick up in tempo.

A calm sort of coolness was spreading through my chest, and drawing me to it. I ignored the raised voices of the people behind me: I unlocked the heavy door leading to the Tesseract, stepping into the docking bay. I walked slowly, reaching my right hand out, reaching for the shield of energy. The pulsing sped up the closer I got, and I could just make out small fizzles of blue energy arcing towards my outstretched hand.

I was aware of heavy metal doors sliding down around me, and Fury yelling at me over a speaker. I blocked it all out, and stepped to within a foot of the cube. I saw Coulson approaching, and getting stuck outside the nimbus of energy. I took a breath, which was visible in the air, it was so cold. A tiny part of my brain started to worry, but I didn't have a chance to act upon that hesitation.

I reached out and touched the Tesseract.

Everything went black.


	2. Chapter 2

**_Two_**

I had the sensation of falling, and I opened my eyes. I was drifting through space, surrounded by purple and green glowing dust, and coronas of light. It was beautiful, and thrummed with some sort of primordial power. I looked around, and suddenly caught sight of a man.

He was dressed in green, covered in golden armour, a matching horned helmet, and a golden sceptre with another blue gem pulsing in its' tip. His black hair was chin length, and pulled behind his ears, barely visible under the metal helmet and his green eyes twinkled mischievously.

"Speak, Midgardian!" he commanded, his cold smooth voice sending shivers wracking down my spine.

"Who are you, and what the freak is a Midgardian?" I asked, cocking a brow at him. His face hardened.

"You dare speak back to Loki: son of Odin, prince of Asgard, ruler of-"

"Cool story bro." I said, and he stopped, looking astonished. "Care to explain what just happened to me?"

"I do not explain things to mere mortals!" he exclaimed, scoffing.

"Yeah, a mere mortal who is somehow floating through space after surviving contact with the most powerful energy source known to man, and talking to someone who proclaims to be a god. I think I deserve some answers."

"You know of the Tesseract?" he inquired, cocking his head. I nodded, mouth twisting sideways.

"For some reason its energy levels seemed to spike when I got close to it, and- Wait, why the freak am I explaining this to you?" I cussed myself out, shaking my head.

"Hm... You may be of some use to me when I arrive. I assumed it was the Tesseract calling to me the closer I came... But it may have been you... How long ago did this happen?"

"Assuming I've had my eyes closed for about five or ten minutes... About that long."

"Indeed... Thank you, mortal. What is your name?" I sensed a cold presence closing around my mind, and I pushed it off. The same cold caressed my heart, and again, I shoved it aside.

"Why should I tell you anything?" I snapped, completely ignoring the fact that for the past minute or so I had told him exactly what he asked for.

"Why did that not work..?" he mumbled, looking at his sceptre. He came closer to me, and tapped the sceptre against my chest, and I felt that same, invasive, choking cold, and I fought it back.

"Stop!" I hissed, getting angry, and pushing him away. A small spark of white-blue energy shot out of my fingertips, and arced into the hand holding the sceptre. He hissed, and swapped the sceptre to his other hand, while he examined the blister forming across his knuckles. I stared at his hand, horrified. He looked up at me, fury and wonder blazing in his eyes.

"How did you do that?!" he spat, his injured hand closing around my throat. I struggled, legs flailing as his grip tightened. Just as my vision started to blur, I heard a loud sizzling noise, and Loki's roar of pain. He let me go, and I gasped, curling up as I tried to catch my breath. When I finally looked up at him, I wished I hadn't. His whole hand was charred and smoking, his sleeve burned away until his elbow, with large angry blisters and burns covering the surface of his skin.

And for some reason his skin had turned blue, his eyes a fiery crimson, and frost was starting to gather on and around his burns. I straightened up quickly, and drifted over to him. He hissed, and pulled further away.

"Loki, I'm sorry," I whispered, looking at his wounded arm. "Just let me see it, please?"

"Why should I trust you, woman?!" he yelled, grabbing onto my wrist. I shivered as a searing cold started to seep through my bones. Looking down at my hand, it was already turning blue, with small frost spikes gathering on the skin around his hand. I looked up into his eyes again, and tried to show how sorry I was.

"Because I can help you," I said simply, looking at his burnt hand again. Something inside me was calling out to touch it, to fix it. He looked at me skeptically, and released my arm. I shook it out, trying to get it warm again.

"If you try anything..." he warned, lowering his sceptre. I nodded, and moved closer, slowly reaching out. His arm gently rested on my hands, and he let out an involuntary sigh. I felt him tense up straight after, so I pretended not to have noticed. I rotated his arm gingerly, carefully assessing the damage. Tears filled my eyes, and I gulped.

"I'm so sorry," I rasped, and I blinked rapidly. A few tears shook free, and fizzled in the air as they floated downwards. The second they came into contact with his arm, they glowed, and sunk into his skin. When the light faded, there were a few spots of clear blue skin, which started to fade to a normal hue once more. I looked up to Loki in shock, and his face was back to normal, and he was looking at me with something unreadable on his face.

"Keep going," he breathed, looking deep into my eyes. I inhaled then looked back down at his arm. I put my hand over his, wincing when his charred fingers locked with my own. The small spike of emotion triggered something, and that same white-blue light shone from his crispy flesh, travelling slowly up his ruined arm. I watched in wonder, as the dying of the light revealed his perfect unblemished skin.

"How..?" I asked, still looking at the place our hands were joined. A cold hand touched the side of my face, and turned my head to look at him. He kept his hand on my face, and stared intently at me.

"I can read an enormous amount of power surging within you, which has manifested itself into magical form. It is the easiest incarnation of power to manipulate. I assume that when you touched the Tessaract, some of its power was transferred to you. I can't explain everything now, but when I come for the Tesseract, I promise I will. But you will have to tell me whether you will come with me."

"But, I... My dad, and... I can't," I breathed, shaking my head. His eyes tightened, and he nodded slowly.

"I see. You're fading, so if I may ask one more thing of you..."

"Yes, Loki?" I whispered, trying to read the expression in his eyes. His gaze was steely, determined, with something flickering in the depths of those emerald orbs.

"What is your name?"

I laughed softly, squeezing his hand gently as my vision started to tunnel.

"Evelyn," I whispered, smiling at him. "My name is Evelyn."

"I will see you sooner than you think, Evelyn," he said, smiling also. The last image I was left with was of Loki smiling gently, and leaning closer to me than anyone had a right to...

"Stupid god," I muttered, as I faded into the blackness, and I was sure I heard his answering laugh.

"EVELYN!"

I groaned, and opened my eyes. I was looking at the ceiling, and I was aware of the agitated flickering of the Tesseract. I sat up, and looked around. The room was empty, save for a few scientists, some soldiers, an agent I didn't recognise, Selvig and Fury. I groaned, and clutched my head, where a throbbing pain was building.

"What happened?" I asked, shakily pulling myself to my feet.

"There is no time, the Tesseract is dangerously unstable, and-" A loud warping sound interrupted him, and the ground started to shake. I turned around, and the Tesseract was shaking in its frame, energy sparking out towards me. I moved side-to-side, and the energy followed.

"I think no matter what I do, I'm going to be hit," I breathed, focussing on the energy I could feel rolling off of the blue cube.

"Ms Stark, please get away from there!" yelled Fury.

"I need to redirect the energy..." I mused, looking around me. I spotted a platform on the other side of the Tessaract which would work fine. I instinctively reached out with my mind, and carefully latched onto the energy source of the Tesseract. I handled it gently, and it responded, its energy focus curving away from me, and pointing towards the other end of the large room. I could feel it fighting to turn it's attention back to me, so I held onto it, caressing the power, and soothing it.

"Evelyn, you need to get away right this second. It's been diverted, and-"

"No!" I yelled, anger bubbling inside me. Didn't these idiots get it? "It's seeking me out, and the further away I get, the more aggressive it's going to become. It's unstable, like a child. I need to keep it calm, and that's what I'm doing. If I leave now, there's no telling what the fallout of its tantrum would be." I looked deep into the cube's centre, and I could just make out a solidifying of the energy.

"It's happening," I whispered, and the Tesseract hummed loudly once more. Suddenly a beam of energy shot out, heading straight for the platform I had pointed it at. A huge portal rimmed with blue opened up, giving us all a good look at the open, empty, starlit space beyond. There was a small explosion of power, and the blue fizzles headed up, making for the dome above us, and fading out.

Looking back down at the platform, a man kneeled there. I recognised the hair and the greenish clothing immediately, although his armour seemed to have disappeared. Soldiers hurried towards him, guns locked and loaded. Loki looked up slowly, a maniacal smile forming on his face. His eyes locked with mine, and the smile faded as he straightened up.

"Sir, please put down the spear!" called Fury, standing beside Selvig. I kept looking at Loki, taking in his ashen skin, the sweat beading on his forehead, and the greyish circles around his eyes. He looked unhealthy, and the power inside me was straining to fix him.

Loki looked at the sceptre in his hand for a second, rather how a child regards something they've been caught picking up, before his face hardened, and he shot a blue blast of energy past me, heading for the equipment close to Fury. The soldiers started firing, and I hit the ground, holding my hands over my head as metal and sparks flew everywhere.

I could hear Loki leaping around, darting between men and bullets, and the occasional thrum of his sceptre powering up for a blast. The thud and grunts of men hitting the ground made me flinch, and I kept my eyes shut tight. There was silence at last, and I moved my arms from my head. Loki was standing in the middle of the fallen soldiers, face twisted in anger, sceptre at the ready, looking over the destruction he had caused. The agent I didn't know crawled to his feet, just to be gripped by Loki, who twisted his gun hand.

"You have heart," rasped the god, and touched his sceptre to the agent's chest. I gasped, as his eyes clouded over black, and then went back to normal, his irises now a burning blue. He slid his gun back into his holster, and Loki grinned, turning away from him. Fury pulled himself up next to me, and removed the Tesseract from its frame, never taking his eyes off of Loki, who was preparing to control another man.

Fury secured the Tessaract in a case, which glowed a bit, before he shut and locked it, hefting it in his hand. He gripped my wrist, and pulled me to my feet, making no noise, before he started walking, trailing me behind him, making as much noise as a cat.

"Please don't," came the silken voice. Fury stopped, I nearly bumped into him, and his shoulders tensed. "I still need that... And her..."

"This doesn't have to get any messier," said Fury, turning his head slightly to look at Loki over his shoulder.

"Of course it does. I've come too far for anything else. I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose."

"Loki!" muttered Selvig, standing up, and moving away from a fallen scientist. "Brother of Thor,"

I gasped, remembering the New Mexico fiasco a few months ago. So he was a god, an alien, a creature of intense power... and also really fit. I mean, what?!

"We have no quarrel with your people," soothed Fury, looking at Loki full on.

"An ant has no quarrel with a boot," quipped Loki, cocking his head.

"You plannin' to step on me?" griped Fury, his eye narrowing.

"I come with glad tidings," announced Loki, ignoring Fury, and walking over to one of the men he had controlled. "Of a world made free..."

"Free from what?"

"Freedom. Freedom is life's great lie. Once you accept that... In your heart-" He quickly turned to Selvig, and used the sceptre to take over his mind. "You will know peace," he whispered, eyebrows raising slightly.

"Yeah, you say peace... I kinda think you mean the other thing..." drawled Fury.

"Sir, Director Fury is stalling," informed the agent. "This place is about to blow, and drop 100ft of rock on us. He means to bury us-"

"Like the Pharaohs of old..." growled the Director.

"He's right, the portal is collapsing in on itself, maybe two minutes before this goes critical," confirmed Selvig, looking at the monitors.

"Well done," said Loki, and the agent pulled out a pistol, and shot Fury in the chest. I screamed, and got pulled to the floor by Fury, whose hand had loosened a second too late. I hit the floor hard, and a rib cracked. I wheezed, sitting up, and tried to reach for the case. The agent stomped on my hand, crushing it, and snagged the case himself. I screamed again, and Loki waved his hand quickly at me, before leading the men out of the room.

A cold blue glow encompassed my shattered hand, and danced along my ribs, sinking into the skin, and chilling the bones, numbing everything as they moved back into place and mended. I breathed deeply, noticing the absence of pain, before crawling over to Fury. He sat up, panting, and started yelling things into a radio. I heard gunfire from outside, and stood up.

"They have the Tesseract!" yelled Fury, limping towards the exit. "Shut them down!"

I sensed the Tesseract acting up, and I turned away from Fury, sprinting the way Loki had gone. I arrived in the hangar just in time to see Agent Hill heading for a Jeep. I jumped in just as she pulled away, and she just nodded to me, handing me a pistol. I took it, with no intention to use it.

We quickly emerged into a tunnel, and started chasing down the pickup. Cars, bullets and scrap metal was flying everywhere. Suddenly, a huge rumble was heard from behind, and I spun around, to see the tunnel collapsing behind us.

"Drive!" I screamed at Hill, who stomped on the accelerator. I pulled out one of my vaporising pistols that I made for myself, and started to zap any debris in our way. I had just turned back around after checking on the gaining rockslide behind us, to see a boulder the size of a bus fall in front of us. I screamed, and closed my eyes waiting for the impact, but nothing came. I opened my eyes, to see the fading sparks of Loki's sceptre blast, and the dust littering the road.

I locked eyes with him, and I smiled tentatively. He winked, and grinned cheekily at me, before he used his sceptre to blast a piece of ceiling above him, causing it to fall in our path, and effectively stop the Jeep.

"Fucker!" I yelled, slapping the dashboard as the pick-up sped out of the tunnel and into the night.


	3. Chapter 3

**_Three_**

"Stark, we need to talk," said Coulson, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"You have reached the life model decoy of Tony Stark, please leave a message."

"This is urgent..."

"Then leave it urgently-" The elevator doors opened, and we saw Pepper and Dad sitting at a table with champagne. "Security breach!"

"Phil, come in!" greeted Pepper with a smile.

"Phil?"

"Can't stay," warned Coulson.

"Um, his first name is Agent," explained my dad. I huffed, and crossed my arms.

"Am I just invisible?" I groused, and my dad made a shushing motion at me.

"Shush, Evie, the grown-ups are talking!"

"Come in, we're celebrating-"

"Which is why he can't stay," muttered my dad.

"We need you to look this over, as soon as possible."

"I don't like being... handed things..."

"That's fine, because I love being handed things so let's trade. Thank you..." Pepper took the folder from Phil, gave her glass to him, and nabbed my dad's flute, replacing it with the black file.

"Official consulting hours are between 8 and 5 every Thursday-"

"This isn't a consultation..."

"Is it about the Avengers? Which I know nothing about..."

"No, Pepper," I quipped, flinging my hands in the air. "This is about the radioactive flying sea-monkeys that have been spotted off the coast of Long Island!"

"Oooh, sea-monkeys!" trilled my dad, bouncing up and down sarcastically. He scoffed, and turned towards his desk at the back of the room. "The Avengers Initiative was scrapped, I thought, and I didn't even qualify."

"Didn't know that either," shrugged Pepper.

"Yeah, apparently I'm volatile, self-obsessed-"

"Don't play well with others?" I suggested, having already read over the old Avengers file.

"That I did know," said Pepper, looking back at Phil.

"This isn't about personality profiles anymore,"

"Whatever. Ms Potts, you got a sec?"

"Half a mo," whispered Pepper, before scurrying over to where my dad was standing at his desk. They talked for a minute, before my dad brought up a display screen of everything on the file: photos, videos, audio clips, text...

They exchanged a few more words before they kissed, which I had to look away for, and Pepper walked away with Coulson talking loudly about something. I walked closer to my dad, watching as he held a holographic image of the Tesseract.

"Better get started with my homework," he muttered, collapsing into a chair.

Loki stared in my dreams that night. I watched from a distance, as he conversed with an alien, talking about the war between Earth, and something called the 'Chitauri'. Loki and the creature seemed to be pissing each other off more than anything, and Loki made the first move. He held his sceptre to the creature's throat, and said something. He withdrew his sceptre, and the hissing voice of the creature floated across the barren plain.

"If you fail, if the Tesseract is kept from us, there will be no realm, no barren moon, no crevice, where we can't find you. You think you know pain?" Wisps of gray smoke started seeping through the air from the creature, as he slowly reached for Loki's head. "I will make you long for something as sweet as PAIN!" I screamed as a burning filled my mind, and I awoke, writhing in bed, drenched in sweat.

"Miss Evelyn, is something wrong?" asked Jarvis, a dim light filling the room. "Your heartbeat got dangerously fast, and you are showing extremely elevated levels of panic and fear. Are you hurt?"

"No, Jarvis," I croaked, taking deep breaths. "Just a nightmare, Jarvis, just a nightmare..."

"But Miss,-"

"I'm fine!" I snapped, and something sparked, and several light-bulbs exploded, dousing me in darkness once again. "J?"

"Goodnight, Miss Evelyn," said Jarvis, and the slight humming of his presence died away.

"What's wrong with me?" I whimpered, curling up into a ball, and trying to find sleep once more.

A steady pulsing in my head woke me at 6:30 the next morning. I got up, and felt woozy. I staggered over to my desk, and pulled up my display screen. I searched up a picture of a world map, and scanned it. I was feeling a pull from something, and needed to find out where _it_ was. Every time I scanned over Europe, the pulsing died down. I zoomed in, and honed in on Germany. I scanned every city, double and triple checking it.

"Jarvis, set Tiny up to fly for Stuttgart, Germany."

I jumped out of the taxi, hearing the screams of people, and the shriek of sirens. I sprinted down the road, and stopped outside of a large limestone building. Loki was emerging, his golden armour melting onto his form. He shot a blast at a police car, flipping it over, and causing it to skid upside-down along the road. Everyone screamed again, and he started to duplicate himself. I was trapped in the circle now, toward the fringes, and close to one of the Loki manifestations.

"Kneel before me," he commanded, Loki's appearing with a hum around the gathering. "I said:" he pressed, slamming the butt of his sceptre into the ground, causing the tip to glow, the imitations copying him, "Kneel!" Everyone shrunk back, and got on their knees. I did the same, crouching next to a woman who was sobbing, and muttering a prayer in German.

"Is not this... simpler? Is this not your natural state? It's the unspoken truth of humanity," He started to walk in the middle of the crowd, and people shuffled out of his way, not making eye contact. "That you crave subjugation. The bright promise of freedom diminishes your life's joy in a mad scramble for power, for identity... You were made to be ruled... In the end, you will always kneel..."

An old man a few people in front of me shakily got to his feet, pushing away the people who tried to pull him down.

"Not to men like you," he said.

"There are no men like me," Loki said, smirking at the man.

"There are always men like you," the man replied, looking with disdain upon the deity in front of him.

"Look to your elder, people... Let him be an example," he said, levelling his sceptre at the man.

"LOKI! NO!" I yelled, jumping up, and shoving my hands out towards him. A bolt of crackling white energy zapped him, sending him toppling to the ground, at the same time a man in blue and white dropped to the ground in front of the man, crouching behind a blue white and red shield. Captain freaking America...

He stood, realising Loki was down, and watching him warily. He didn't even bother look around for me. Loki looked up, and met my eyes, face cold with rage.

"Yunno, the last time I was in Germany, and saw a man standing above everybody else, we ended up disagreeing..." Loki stood, glaring at Steve Rogers.

"The soldier," he spat, jaw jutting out defiantly. He laughed quietly, propped on his staff. "The man out of time..."

"I'm not the one who's outta time." hinted Steve, and the quinjet flew in behind him, hovering over our heads, guns trained on Loki.

"Loki, drop the weapon and stand down," came the authoritative female voice. Natasha Romanoff; how lovely. Note the sarcasm... Loki shot a blast at the plane, but Natasha quickly dodged it, and Steve moved forwards, swinging his shield at Loki. Loki swung his sceptre, parrying Steve's blows, until he knocked him out of the way. Steve flung his shield at Loki, which he deftly swept to the ground.

'Cap' threw some punches, before being thrown to the floor. Loki stalked over to him, placing the tip of his sceptre on his helmet, and growled,

"Kneel..!"

"Not today!" spat Steve, rolling out of the way. They grappled for a few more seconds, before music started to blare through the night. My dad swooped overhead, shooting a pulse at Loki, before landing on the stone tiles not ten feet from me.

"Make your move, Reindeer Games," came my dad's robotic voice, pointing his palms at Loki, guns popping from the shoulders of the suit as Steve stood, shield on his arm, by his side. Loki's armour melted away, and he put his hands up, face expressionless. My dad put away his weapons, and lowered his arms. "Good move." The quinjet came in for landing behind us, while I kept my eyes on Loki.

"Mr Stark," said Captain America.

"Captain," replied my dad. He walked up to Loki, shackled him, and marched him towards the quinjet. I scurried forward, and picked up the sceptre. It hummed in my hands, and the gem lit up quickly, before fading back to normal.

"Ma'am?" came the voice from behind me. I turned, and Steve Rogers had his shield up, in a defensive position. "Please put down the weapon. I don't want to hurt you, okay?" I snorted, and he looked shocked.

"Evelyn Stark," I said, holding out my hand. His eyes widened in recognition, and he grasped my hand, shaking it a few times.

"Miss Stark, a pleasure to meet you. I'm-"

"Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, aka the patriot, aka Wonder-Boy. I know who you are." I grinned at him, and left him standing there while I headed for the fighter jet.

Five minutes later we were in the air, the sceptre locked in a box at my feet, Loki chained into the seat opposite me, and Wonder-Boy and my pops talking up front with Natasha. Loki stared at me the whole time, looking into my eyes, and I didn't look away, trying to figure what he was looking for, or trying to tell me.

Lightening started to flash around us, and the deafening roll of thunder finally caused Loki to look away. He looked out of the front window, and he almost seemed... worried?

"What's wrong, scared of a little lightening?" quipped Wonder-Boy, looking over at Loki. Loki glared at Steve, then looked to the ceiling of the jet.

"I'm not overly fond of what follows," he murmured, his words foreboding. A loud bang rocked the jet, and a dent was formed in the roof. My dad put his mask on, and opened the bay doors, walking towards the storm raging outside. A man appeared in the doorway, dirty blond hair reaching his shoulders, blue and silver clothing and armour clinging to him, with a blood red cape whipping in the wind, an engraved silver hammer glinting in the lightening.

He swung his hammer at my dad's chest, and knocked him into the corner of the jet. He reached for Loki, wrenching him up by the front of his vest, snapping all of the seat straps without effort. I started to unbuckle, fingers flying frantically over the metal and plastic holding me in my seat. The man leaped out of the jet, taking Loki with him.

"Now there's that guy," grumbled my dad, standing up.

"Another Asgardian?" called Natasha, leaning back to look at us.

"Think he's a friendly?" asked Wonder-Boy.

"Doesn't matter. If he frees Loki or kills him, the Tesseract's lost."

"Stark, we need a plan of attack!" yelled Wonder-Boy, as my dad made for the exit. I freed myself finally, and stood up, pulling on my leather fingerless gloves. My dad didn't miss a beat, as he said,

"I have a plan. Attack." His boosters kicked to life, and he soared from the jet. Not waiting for Steve to say anything, I leaped into the night after him. I controlled my fall, keeping my feet pointing towards the Earth, hair trailing up behind me like a flame. I blinked rapidly, trying to keep the rain out of my eyes. I counted in my head, and pressed a button in the palm of my glove.

 _Anytime Friday,_ I grumbled, stomach lurching as I reached critical velocity. Suddenly a streak of silver shot out of the darkness, and my feet thudded onto the metal, automatically locking into place as the magnets in my boots took effect. I crowed in victory, and leaned forward on the hover-board, the blue thrusters in the back and bottom opening up, and slowing my decent, sending me shooting through the night.

I spiralled up and around, and just about made out the shape of a S.H.I.E.L.D. parachute falling into the forest. I narrowed my eyes and leaned forwards, crouching low on the board as I angled myself downwards. I let gravity do most of the work, shifting my centre of gravity to turn myself as I flew. I noticed my dad streak from the apex of a small mountain into the forest, and crash on the ground there. Curiosity peaked, I re-directed, and headed for the mountain.

I made out Loki, sitting on the edge of a cliff, looking down upon the place my dad had crashed. I alighted behind him, hover-board shutting down, and folding into a small silver cube. I pocketed it, and walked forward slowly. He never moved, and I sat down beside him, watching my dad and the Asgardian converse.

"Is that your brother?" I asked quietly, gesturing to the buff blond. Loki just nodded, and I sighed. "Why won't you talk to me? What have I done? If it's about Germany, I-"

"Hush, Evelyn," he said, turning to me as Thor knocked my dad back into some trees. "You have done nothing wrong. I am just frustrated with myself."

"Why?" I asked, facing him. He grimaced, and reached out to my hand. A small zap of energy arced between us, making my index finger warm up.

"Because your magic is rejecting mine..." he breathed, drawing his hand back. I frowned, and tired to reach out to his magic. I could feel it, but something inside me was trying to pull me away. I reached out for his hand, and my magic sent out a field, not allowing me to come within an inch of his skin.

"Why?" I asked again, frowning at my tingling hand.

"What you did in Germany... pushing me away from that man... It sent your magic into overdrive against me. You had not used it properly before, or even correctly harnessed it, and so it lashed out against the first thing in came into contact with... Which happened to be me..." He exhaled, and looked back at the forest, smirking artificially at the two heroes doing battle.

"I won't let it," I vowed, sitting up straighter.

"And how will you stop it, little mortal?" he asked teasingly, smirking condescendingly at me. I stood up, and he did also.

"I won't stop it. I'll encourage it." I said, blasting him with a frazzling ball of power. He flew backwards, slamming into the rock wall. I didn't give him a chance to recover. I slammed bolt after bolt into him, carving a circular divot into the rock face. The rock was smoking, and Loki was slumped there, clothes charred, skin red and raw.

Once the roiling energy in me had died down, I ran forwards, and placed my hands on the sides of his face. There was no interference, and I grinned. I lifted his head from where it was tilted on his shoulder, and patted his cheek a few times to wake him up, fingertips brushing his taut, angled cheekbones. When his eyes flickered open, I smirked at him, and stared into his gleaming green eyes.

"Your little mortal just subdued her magic. You proud of me?" I joked, still grinning at him. His eyebrow rose, and he grinned, wincing as his chapped lip split slightly. I saw the red start to well up, and I placed my thumb over the cut, letting my magic flow into his bloodstream, and heal him. I was unaware of the three figures standing behind me, watching while white sparks danced across the surface of his skin, fading the angry red blisters, smoothing his skin, and removing the peeled, charred skin. He was perfect again inside of a minute, and his eyes fluttered open once more.

"You, Evelyn Stark, are a rather dangerous little mortal, aren't you?" he asked, raising his hand, and brushing some of my wet hair away from my face, a little smirk gracing his lips. I grinned back, and helped him to his feet.

"Brother?" came a booming voice from behind me. I whirled around, sparks of energy leaping from my finger tips. In response, Thor raised his hammer, pointing it at Loki.

"Reindeer Games, I recommend that you leave my daughter alone," growled my dad, pointing his palms at Loki again. Wonder-Boy hefted his shield, edging closer to me.

"And I recommend that you _all_ leave _her_ alone," Loki drawled, placing his arm around my shoulders, and pulling me closer to him. I felt the numbing touch of his magic reach out to me, and start smoothing out the flares in my magical core. "You need to calm down, Evelyn," he warned me, hand running up and down my right arm.

"Unhand her, Loki!" bellowed Thor, taking a step forward. Electricity crackled in the air, though whether it was mine or his, I couldn't tell.

"Do you see her struggling?" he smirked, and loosened his arm, as if to prove a point. My magic started to spike again, and so I moved closer to him, pressing into his side. He chuckled, and rested his head on top of mine. "Calm, Evie," he breathed into my hair, and my nickname falling from his lips did funny things to my heart rate.

"Ms Stark, please move away from Loki, you aren't safe," pressed Steve, trying to move closer. I tensed, and tried to reign in the power threatening to knock the three men on their asses.

"Evie, come on, sweetie, what are you doing?" asked Dad, holding one hand out ready to blast Loki, and one hand out for me to take. Thor started winding up his hammer, gradually increasing the speed as he spoke.

"Loki, release her mind. This mortal has done nothing to you, and yet you insist on using her in your sick little games! I will only warn you once more, unhand her!"

"SHE IS NOT A GAME!" Loki roared, spittle flying from his mouth in his rage. He shook gently, and he moved away from me a little bit. "This _mortal_ , as you call her, has touched the Tesseract, and has therefore ingested more power than we could imagine, and more than she knows what to do with! Her magic is out of control, and she is trying to reign it in. She is currently fighting the urge to knock you all off of this mountain, and I am trying to aid her in that quest.

"I am the only person who can help her with this, but you threatening me or her is decidedly not helping! So I would appreciate it very much if you stood down!" Loki growled, glaring at all of them. I clung onto his arm, face buried into his sleeve as I took quick shaky breaths. I was slipping, and sparks were already dancing in the air, curving towards Loki for grounding, as well as Thor, the most immediate threat.

"Evie, is this true?" asked my dad, lowering his arms. I nodded quickly, concentrating with all my might on keeping my magic buried. "Will you be okay?" I could tell he was really worried, and that Fury was going to pay when my dad caught up to him.

"Yes, Dad!" I choked out through gritted teeth. Loki tucked me under his arm again, backing us away from the men.

"If this is another of your games, Loki-" threatened Thor, lowering his hammer.

"By all means brother, test her. I would love to see how you fair against a mortal possibly more powerful then yourself," egged Loki, not leaving my side. Thor hesitated, and then took a step back, looking down. Loki grinned, and turned us around, moving back to the shelter I had carved into the rock. He sat me down, then settled himself on the ground across from me, holding out his hands.

"Loki, help me," I gasped, sparks jumping erratically from my hands and chest.

"Give me your hands," he soothed, a look of gentle understanding on his face. I reached out, and the second our hands came into contact, I relaxed. Having found a receptor, my magic flowed willingly across the bridge we had made, looping between us, and checking out his magical signature as his magic did the same to me. I sighed happily, as the building tension died down, and a glowing coolness spread through me. Loki grinned at me, eyes dancing jovially, and we watched our magic dance in the air, blue and white sparks joining in an arcane dance.


	4. Chapter 4

**_Four_**

I watched on the monitor as Loki was locked inside the glass prison, and he stood there impassively, watching Nick Fury closely as he entered the room.

"In case it's unclear, you try to escape, you so much as scratch that glass: 30,000ft straight down in a steel trap. You get how that works?" He closed the giant hole he had opened up underneath the prison. He gestured to Loki, "Ant... Boot," he pointed to the control panel that he had fiddled with seconds previously. Loki chuckled, and waved to his surroundings.

"It is an impressive cage," he allowed, an annoying smirk on his face. "Not built, I think, for me."

"Built for something a lot stronger than you."

"Oh, I've heard..." He looked to his left, looking into the camera, staring at me and anyone who was watching as he walked towards the camera. "A mindless beast, making play as a man. How desperate are you? To call on such lost creatures to defend you."

"How desperate am I? You threaten my world with war, you steal a force you can't hope to control. You talk about peace and you kill 'cause it's fun. You have made me very desperate! You might not be glad that you did."

"Oooh... It burns you to have come so close... To have the Tesseract, to have the power... Unlimited power... And for what? A warm light for all mankind to share... And then to be reminded what real power is..." Fury glared at Loki, before allowing a small smirk to play across his mouth. He turned, and walked away, calling out behind him,

"Yeah, well, let me know if "real power" wants a magazine or something..." Loki just smiled slightly, before looking once more at the camera. I shut down the display, and exhaled shakily. I walked out of my bedroom, and headed for the lab.

"The gamma readings are definitely consistent with Selvig's reports for the Tesseract. It's gonna take weeks to process." informed Bruce, running a scanner over Loki's weapon.

"If we bypass their mainframe and direct a re-route to the Homer cluster, we can clock this at around... 600 terraflops."

"Huh. All I packed was a toothbrush." mumbled Banner, looking at the fancy machinery my dad had just moved away from.

"You know, you should come by Stark Tower sometime, top ten floors, all R&D, you'd love it, it's candy-land," I said, munching on a cookie.

"Thanks, but last time I was in New York, I kinda... broke Harlem."

"Well, I promise a stress free environment, no tension, no surprises..." Suddenly my dad shocked Bruce with a small stick, and he yelped in pain, jumping away from him.

"OW!"

"Nothing?"

Steve stalked into the room, glaring at 'Pappa Stark'.

"Hey, are you nuts?" he fumed, stopping a few feet from us.

"You really have got a lid on it, haven't you? What's your secret? Mellow jazz? Bongo drums? Huge bag of weed?"

"Is everything a joke to you?" Steve growled.

"Funny things are," I offered, polishing off the last of my cookie.

"Threatening the safety of everyone on this ship isn't funny. No offence, doctor." Steve admonished, crossing his arms.

"No, it... it's alright. I wouldn't have come aboard if I couldn't handle pointy things."

"You're tiptoeing, big man. You need to strut."

"And you need to focus on the problem, Mr Stark,"

"You think I'm not? Why did Fury call us and why now? Why not before? What isn't he telling us? I can't do the equation unless I have all the variables." groused my dad, looking at Steve disparagingly.

"There is a high likelihood that h=847739," I called out, unwrapping some gum without looking up.

 **H=847739, Hulk=Banner! Geddit?! Lol, maths joke!**

"You think Fury's hiding something?"

"He's a spy. Captain, he's _the_ spy. His _secrets_ have secrets." My dad pointed to Bruce, who seemed on guard. It's bugging him too, isn't it?"

"Uh... I just wanna finish my work here, and..."

"Doctor?"

"'A warm light for all mankind to share'... Loki's jab at Fury about the cube?"

"I heard it..."

Bruce pointed at my dad.

"Well, I think that was meant for you. Even if Barton didn't tell Loki, it was all over the news."

"The Stark Tower? That big ugly...building in New York?"

"Oi!" I yelled, pointing at Steve. "That's my house, Wonder-Boy."

"It's powered by Stark Reactors, self sustaining energy sources. That building will run itself for what, a year?"

"That's just the prototype. I'm kind of the only name in clean energy right now." boasted my dad.

"So why didn't SHIELD bring him in on the Tesseract project? I mean, what are they doing in the energy business in the first place?" asked Banner, eyebrows creasing.

"I should probably look into that once my decryption programme finishes breaking into all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s secure files." mused my father, moving back to his work station.

"I'm sorry, did you say...?"

I cut off Steve quickly.

"Jarvis has been running it since he hit the bridge. In a few hours we'll know every dirty secret SHIELD has ever tried to hide." I explained, after blowing a huge bubble. "Gum?"

"Yet you're confused about why they didn't want you around?" Steve murmured.

"Hey!" I complained. "I resent that!"

"An intelligence organization that fears intelligence? Historically not awesome." my dad muttered, fiddling with his equipment.

"I think Loki's trying to wind us up. This is a man who means to start a war, and if we don't stay focused, he'll succeed. We have orders, we should follow them." Steve pushed.

"Following is not really the Stark style."

"I agree," I chimed in.

"And you're all about style, aren't you?" quipped Steve.

"Of the people in this room, which one is; a) wearing a spangly outfit, and b) not of use?" spat my father, glaring at Steve.

"Wonder-boy..." I mumbled around a candy bubble.

"Steve, tell me none of this smells a little funky to you?" egged Bruce, absently cleaning his lenses.

"Just find the cube." Steve griped, and stalked out of the room.

"That's the guy my dad never shut up about? Wondering if they shouldn't have kept him on ice..." Pops grumbled.

"The guy's not wrong about Loki, he does have the jump on us."

"What he's got is an ACME dynamite kit. It's gonna blow up in his face, and I'm gonna be there when it does."

"And I'll read all about it." grinned Bruce, looking back at his monitor.

"And I'll be the one that heals his sorry ass..." I mumbled to myself.

"Uh-huh. Or you'll be suiting up like the rest of us."

"Ah, you see... I don't get a suit of armour. I'm exposed, like a nerve. It's a nightmare."

"You know, I've got a cluster of shrapnel, trying every second to crawl its way into my heart." He pointed to the metal plug in his chest. "This stops it. This little circle of light. It's part of me now, not just armour. It's a terrible privilege."

"But you can control it."

"Because I learned how."

"It's different."

"Hey, I've read all about your accident. That much gamma exposure should have killed you."

"So you're saying that the Hulk, the other guy, saved my life? That's nice. It's a nice sentiment. Save it for what?"

"I guess we'll find out."

"You may not enjoy that."

"You just might."

"Testosterone..!" I grumbled, stalking out of the room before they could start hugging, or something.

"What are you doing, Mr. Stark?" demanded Fury.

"Uh...kind of been wondering the same thing about you."

"You're supposed to be locating the Tesseract." he admonished, frowning, while he glared at my dad.

"We are, the model's locked and we're sweeping for the signature now. When we get a hit, we'll have the location within half a mile." explained Bruce, slowly removing his thin framed glasses.

"And you'll get your cube back, no muss, no fuss. What is Phase 2?"

Steve walked in carrying a weapon from the Phase 2 project.

"Phase 2 is S.H.I.E.L.D. using the cube to make weapons. Sorry, the computer was moving a little slow for me." He dumped the gun onto the desk in front of my father.

"Rogers, we gathered everything related to the Tesseract. This does not mean that we're..."

"I'm sorry, Nick." said my dad, turning his computer screen so Fury could see the Phase 2 files displayed there.

"What were you hiding?"

"I was wrong, Director. The world hasn't changed a bit." grit out Steve.

"Did you know about this?" I asked, looking at Thor and Natasha as they entered the room

"You wanna think about removing yourself from this environment, doctor?" nudged Natasha, tensing up.

"I was in Calcutta, I was pretty well removed."

"Loki's manipulating you." Natasha warned.

"And you've been doing what exactly?" he shot back. A steady humming started in my head, and I slid off of the desk, a hand going to my head.

"You didn't come here because I bat my eyelashes at you."

"Yes, and I'm not leaving because suddenly you get a little twitchy!"

"I'd like to know why S.H.I.E.L.D. is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction."

"Because of him," Fury shot, pointing at Thor.

"Me?"

"Last year earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge match that levelled a small town. We learned that not only are we not alone, but we are hopelessly, hilariously, out-gunned."

"My people want nothing but peace with your planet." argued Thor, shoulders going stiff.

"But you're not the only people out there, are you? And, you're not the only threat. The world's filling up with people who can't be matched, they can't be controlled." returned Fury, glaring at the god with his one eye.

"Like you controlled the cube?" interjected Steve, finally turning from my dad.

"You're work with the Tesseract is what drew Loki to it, and his allies. It is the signal to all the realms that the earth is ready for a higher form of war." explained Thor impatiently.

"A higher form?" Steve inquired.

"You forced our hand. We had to come up with something." Fury argued back.

"A nuclear deterrent, cause that always calms everything right down!" I snarked, finally sick to death of the arguing.

"Remind me again how your father made his fortune, Stark?"

"I'm sure if he still made weapons, Stark would be neck deep..."said Steve.

"Wait! Wait! Hold on! How is this now about me?" shouted my dad, rounding on Steve.

"I'm sorry, isn't everything?" snapped Steve. My head started buzzing, and I staggered a bit.

"I thought humans were more evolved than this." chortled Thor.

"Excuse me, did we come to your planet and blow stuff up?" shot Fury. Everyone started yelling over each other, and I felt like screaming.

"You speak of control, yet you court chaos!" yelled Thor, face hardening.

"It's his M.O. isn't it? I mean, what are we, a team? No, no, no. We're a chemical mixture that makes chaos. We're...we're a time-bomb." Banner stuttered, gesturing at everyone.

"You need to step away..." warned Fury, looking to Bruce.

"Why shouldn't they guy let off a little steam?" my dad argued, getting close to Fury.

"You know damn well why! Back off!" shouted Steve.

"Oh, I'm starting to want you to make me!" spat my dad, rounding on Steve.

"Yeah, big man in a suit of armour. Take that off, what are you?"

"Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist..." my dad reeled off, eyebrow raised at Steve.

"I know guys with none of that worth ten of you. I've seen the footage. The only thing you really fight for is yourself. You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you."

"I think I would just cut the wire..."

"Always a way out. You know, you may not be a threat, but you better stop pretending to be a hero," threatened Steve.

"A hero, like you? You're a laboratory experiment, Rogers. Everything special about you came out of a bottle,"

"Put on the suit, let's go a few rounds!" he yelled at my dad. Thor laughed, and started to mock them.

"You people are so petty..." he looked to me, smirking. "And tiny!"

"Yeah, this is a team..." snarked Bruce.

"Agent Romanoff, would you escort Dr. Banner back to his-"

"Where? You're renting my room!" snapped Bruce. The buzzing in my head was beginning to get unbearable, and my magic was causing computers and lights to spark and pop. I was losing it, and unless this stopped, the room was going to blow.

"The cell was just-"

"-In case you needed to kill me... But you can't! I know: I tried! I got low, I didn't see an end, so I put a bullet in my mouth and the other guy spit it out. So I moved on, I focused on helping other people. I was good until you dragged me back into this freak show and put everyone here at risk. You wanna know my secret, Agent Romanoff? You wanna know how I stay calm?"

In the middle of Bruce's tirade, I snapped. As he finished speaking, I lurched for the sceptre, while everyone was busy unhooking guns, or moving away from the enraged scientist. I grasped the sceptre, and its' power surged through me, muting the buzzing, and calming my magic. I felt the calming influence of Loki, and surrendered to the shelter it offered.

I was barely aware of the fact that I had pointed the sceptre at the crowd, head cocked to the side, a mad smile stretching my lips painfully. Everyone's weapons were now pointed at me, and even my dad was pointing the shocking device he used on Banner earlier at me. I watched them all, the way a predator watches prey, and cold thrilling energy danced through my veins, whizzing along my arms, and up my neck, across my face, and into my head. If this was how it felt to be Loki... I loved it.

 _Do it, love,_ a soft voice whispered in my head. My head coked to the other side, half of my brain trying to make out what Steve was mouthing, the other half wanting to obey Loki's beautiful voice. _End them all, and we can leave together. I can show you the universe, places and creatures you can only dream of._

 _But... My dad... They don't... Deserve..._ I struggled, some small part of me realising this was wrong. The smile faded from my face, and the overwhelming energy surging through me started to die out. My hearing started to come back, and Loki's voice started to get weaker.

 _Come to me, and I will make you a queen..._ His voice was gone, and I was suddenly fully aware. My hands trembled, and I lowered the sceptre slightly.

"Evelyn, if you can hear me, put down the sceptre. Loki is controlling you. If you fire that, you could hurt your father. You don't want that, do you?"

"No," I whispered, and my lower lip trembled. I looked down at the sceptre in my hands, and flung it away from me disgusted. It clattered onto the floor, the light in the tip fading in defeat. I wailed, slumping, and then was caught deftly in my dad's strong arms.

"Sh, Evie, it's okay," he soothed, rough calloused hands rubbing up and down my back. I buried my face in his chest, tears streaming down my face.

"Daddy, I'm so sorry, I... Daddy... Dad I'm sorry!" I sobbed, trying to control my erratic breathing, clutching him to me, looking for some stability.

"It's fine, Evie, Daddy's here for you now. That git Loki won't hurt you again... And you say I only fight for myself!" he shot over his shoulder at Steve. The others started talking, but I ignored them, as I started to calm down, my anger now making an appearance. A spark cracked between us, and my dad back up a bit. I grit my teeth, and I felt my magic surging in my head, my hair floating up, charged with static electricity.

"Where is the fucker?" I growled, hands clenching into fists. My dad backed up, looking between me and the door warily.

"Evie, I don't think it's best if you go see him. He's controlled you once, and you're vulnerable-" He was cut off, as a bolt of energy arced past him, burning the floor next to him.

"Do I _seem_... vulnerable... to you?" I hissed, fingers twitching, the smell of ozone in the air. Everyone was quiet, and I waited. An explosion rocked the ship, and I seized the distraction. My magic propelled me off of the floor, and I went zooming out of the room, small trails of lightening following my path. I streaked into the hallway, and went careening down it, my magic slamming doors behind me as I went. Looks like I had stolen Thor's thunder... so to speak.

Within minutes I was down in the hull of the Helicarrier. I barged into the holding room, zapping the guards that stepped forwards without looking at them. I sealed the doors behind me, re-enforcing the doors with a bolt of energy. I whirled, and set my eyes on Loki, who had hurriedly scrambled to his feet.

"Evelyn, I-"

"YOU TWAT!" I screamed, and I sprinted to the glass. I pounded my fists on it, energy reaching out and attacking the glass surface with a vengeance, trying to find a weakness. I found nothing, and choked on my screams, slowly falling to the ground, leaning against the curved surface, tears transferring from my face to the cold thick glass.

Loki followed my descent, kneeling in front of me, hands pressed to the glass, against where my hands rested limply. He looked genuinely upset, and worried by my reaction. His eyes frantically flickered over my expression, and followed the path my tears made down my cheeks, looking pained by each one that made itself known.

"Evelyn, I'm so sorry. I promise on every scrap of magic I own that none of that was me. The sceptre is only meant to be wielded by a higher life form. The gem in the tip is a mind stone, and feeds on your inner darkness. I believe that since I had been wielding it for so long, some of my darker intents may have been imprinted into its make-up. Evelyn, you have to believe me, I would never-"

"Why? Why would you never control me that way? You seemed fine with making everyone else turn on each other. You realise that the whole scene up there caused a headache so painful I was going to impale myself on that thing just to make it go away. But it responded to me. The pain went away, and I felt energised. I felt like I could do anything, kill anyone... level a planet without thinking..." I shuddered, and looked into his eyes. He seemed confused, but also proud.

"The sceptre only deems a few to be worthy of its' power. You seem to be one of the chosen few. What was this headache like? Was it like a pulsing? A deep humming inside the fabric of your mind?"

"Yes. It was humming, at first, but then it grew to be an unbearable buzzing. I felt as though my head would split open. Why?"

"I'm sorry, Evelyn. I feel as though the headache may have been my fault. When I interfere with a person's mental state, I often have that same humming sensation. It used to be a buzz, but after practise, and with a general mastery of the arts, it never gets to be more than a thrum. I believe you may be connected to me in some way, and that the extensive use of my magic may have been too much for you. If I had continued, your brain would have ripped itself up, and-" He choked, and closed his eyes, lines of pain written into his face. I just gaped at him, as several tears crawled slowly down his face.

"Why are you crying?" I asked, appalled. He whispered something, but I couldn't hear him. "Loki?"

"I can't stand the thought... of you... _dying_..." he croaked, neck going taut, as he gulped. I gasped quietly. Why did he care? Wasn't I just another piece in his quest to rule the Earth?

"Loki..." I breathed, flattening my hand against the glass that separated us.

All I wanted to do was hug him. Give him reassurance, and never give him cause to feel this kind of pain again. Because without asking, I knew this feeling was alien to Loki: completely unnatural, new, and petrifying. I sobbed along with him, while the god fell apart. And when he was ready, I would be there to piece him back together again.


	5. Chapter 5

**_Five_**

It seemed like years until we were disturbed. We just sat there, gazing into each other's eyes while explosions rocked the ship around us. We heard the primal roar echo from somewhere below us, and I recognised it immediately.

"Doctor Banner..." I gasped, looking around worriedly. Loki's eyes gleamed, and he grinned. I looked back at him, shocked. "What is wrong with you?!"

"This is exactly what I need," he muttered, eyes flickering side-to-side in the air. "The beast will distract the rest of the staff, my brother will inevitably come for me... Oh this is perfect... Evelyn, you need to leave," he looked up, face serious once more.

"I am not running and hiding!" I hissed, glaring at him. He sighed in defeat, and then seemed to re-think his plan.

"Alright then, but I need to go along with exactly what I say. If you end up in potential danger, or it seems like I betray you, don't take it to heart. I don't need my brother to have any more weaknesses to hold over my head, and you are most definitely a weakness, Evelyn."

"I feel honoured..." I griped, looking down. I felt a cold ghostly hand under my chin, even though he was still locked inside the glass box, and I was forced to look up at him again.

"You should be, Evie. I don't open myself up enough to care this deeply for anyone. In fact, you may be the only one. Indeed, you are the only mortal," he said softly, a small smile making his already defined cheekbones more prominent.

"Okay Loki. I trust you." I smiled, and he returned the gesture, eyes crinkling.

"Good. Ready yourself, my lady. Even when things seem bleak, remember: I am always with you..." I nodded, and we locked eyes once more, sharing a moment. We heard heavy footsteps from further down the corridor and I stood up. "Open the door," he hissed, hurrying to his feet. I did as he said, darting over to the control panel, touching the release button for the door.

The door slowly slid open, and Loki stood there smirking, readying himself for Thor's appearance. He waved a hand towards me, and my eyes burned, and I blinked. I could see my reflection, and my eyes were the same burning blue as the people Loki had controlled. I stood there, looking blank, and Thor skidded around the corner.

"NO!" he roared, charging at Loki. Just as Thor reached him, Loki dissolved, and Thor went barrelling into the cell. Loki quickly appeared at my side, and threw me into the glass cage after him, at a dangerous speed. Thor had to catch me, to stop me splattering on the inside of the prison. The door locked quickly, and I felt my eyes fade back to normal.

"Are you ever not going to fall for that..?" asked Loki, hands behind his back as he regarded us. I squirmed, and Thor put me down, before turning to Loki, enraged. He roared, the noise rebounding harshly off of the glass, and charged, bringing Mjolnir down on the glass. A fairly small crack appeared, and Thor gazed at it in wonder for a second, before his face hardened, and he landed another crunching blow.

"The humans think us immortal. Shall we test that?" hummed Loki, preparing to drop the cell from the underneath of the ship. Suddenly footsteps were heard coming along the metal walkway, and I pressed myself closer to the glass, to try and see the approaching human. A figure stepped from the shadows, hefting an overly large gun.

"Move away please," Phil Coulson warned, barrel of the Phase 2 prototype aimed at Loki's chest. Loki grimaced, and stepped away from the control panel, hands raised in a non-threatening gesture. "You like this? We started working on a prototype after you sent the Destroyer. Even I don't know what it does. Wanna find out?" Just as Coulson's finger settled more firmly on the trigger, Loki vanished, and re-materialised behind Coulson, curved dagger punching through his lower stomach.

I was frozen in shock for a moment, distantly hearing Thor's bellow of denial, and the small cough Phil gave, looking at the curved blade piercing through his crisp shirt, before the gun fell from his hands, and he sank slowly to the floor.

"PHIIIIIIIILLLLLLLLL!" I shrieked, and magic was released in a burst, spider-web cracks starting to crawl up the sides of the cell. Loki shot me an apologetic glance, and smashed his fist down on a button. The hole beneath us opened up, and I released a wail as the clamps holding us up detached, letting the cell plummet towards the earth.

Thor took a moment to orient himself, before he started pounding away the best he could at the glass, as we spun and were buffeted side-to-side by the harsh winds. Nothing was being done fast enough, and the ground was fast approaching. I gathered up every scrap of magic I possessed, and massed all of my negative feelings up into a roiling ball of death. I fused the two, and only hundreds of metres from the ground, I released it in a long ear-splitting scream, causing the cell to explode and combust instantly.

Thor reacted straight away, and as my eyes rolled into the back of my head, and my body slumped, he dove forward, strong muscled arms wrapping around my waist, pulling me away from the wreckage. He barely had time to twist around so I was on top of him, before we crash landed, gouging a deep crater into the earth.

Thor groaned, shifted beneath me, and then fell still, arms still locked tightly around my tiny body, the small rising and falling of his chest making me worried for his well-being. I didn't have time to do much. I felt every muscle and nerve in my body spasming, rejecting the sudden loss of magic in my system. I was sure I had drained my whole core, and I was going to pay dearly for it. My mind shut down, as my body started to jerk and writhe, tearing itself apart to find one last spark of magic. I gave in to the darkness, offering my final goodbye to Loki, and my father.

What seemed like eons later, loud male grunting, the zapping and crackling of an electric charge, the smell of burnt hair, on top of the unclean feeling spreading throughout my body, brought my consciousness swimming to the surface. I moaned softly, and the noises stopped. There was a loud scrambling sound, and the abrasive clattering of rocks, and suddenly a warm calloused hand was on my forehead.

I automatically tilted my head away from the warmth, seeking out the cold touch I craved so much. The hand moved to my neck, where two meaty fingers felt my pulse, and then moved down my arms and legs, bending and moving them, checking for damage. When the hand (hands now) skirted along the bare flesh of my collar bone and upper chest, I hissed, and slapped the hands away.

"Lady Stark?" came the booming voice, belonging to none other than the god of thunder, Thor.

"Twat," I muttered, scrunching my eyes up against the bright light, as I tried to open them. A shadow obscured the aggressive sunlight, and my eyes fluttered open, to be greeted with the sight of a ruggedly handsome, yet haggard and gaunt Thor.

"Lady Stark, I believe you may have received a mighty blow to your cranium. My name is Thor, not... twat..." he trailed off, possibly recognising the cuss word. By his adorable scowl, I assumed that he had. "That was rather rude," he rumbled, eyebrows drawing together.

"Part of the Stark M.O. I'm afraid," I mumbled, sitting up slowly. I winced, stretching out, as I took in our surroundings. We were on a small island, sitting in a fairly sizable crater. Thor moved back, leaning on Mjolnir as he watched me. My entire body buzzed with something foreign, and it made me feel dirty, infected... _violated_. I shuddered, and tired to conjure up some sparks. The magic sparked angrily on my hand, then fizzled out.

I frowned at my hand, and then looked up at Thor, who was trying to avoid my gaze. I ignored it for now, standing up, and climbing out of the crater. Smoking remains of the prison that had been dumped unceremoniously from the Helicarrier littered the beach, looking like small rocks.

"Thor, where are we? Where is everyone else? And the ship... what happened?" I whispered, tears threatening my eyes. Thor stood beside me, and placed a large hand on my shoulder comfortingly.

"The flying fortress was under attack, and your father and the Captain were sent to fix it. Dr Banner was thrown from the ship, and crash landed with a jet. I do not know the fate of my brother, or Dr Banner, for that matter. I know for a fact, however, the rest of the Avengers were headed for New York, Dr Banner having located the Tesseract fairly close to your home."

"Thank you. And Thor... What did you do to my magic?" I asked, looking up at the huge 6'6" man. He shifted uneasily, and looked away from me as he said,

"I believe you over-extended yourself, and you were very injured from the fall. Your body immediately went into a state adopted when magical healing takes place, but there being little to no magic left, your body began ripping itself apart to find some more. I had to repeatedly blast you with energy from Mjolnir to keep you alive. I do not know why your magic has not come back. Power regenerates, so if it has not come back yet, all you can do is wait..."

"I don't think it will come back," I said sadly, looking at the hand which had sparked earlier. "My entire being feels alive with energy, but it feels wrong... Like I've been violated; over-taken by a foreign entity. I believe while Mjolnir's magic flows through me, I can't use my usual spells."

"I am sorry, Lady Stark, but it was a necessary measure. How soon do you think you will be ready to travel?"

"I don't know Thor, soon, hopefully. Why?" The god bore a grin so mischievous he could have put his younger brother to shame.

"Because we, my lady, have a city to fly to!"

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" I screamed, as Thor narrowly avoided colliding with a building.

"I'M ACTUALLY A SON OF ODIN!" he boomed, grinning down at me. I saw Stark Tower appear on the horizon, and pointed to it, narrowing my eyes against the wind.

"There! Drop me at the base!" I yelled, struggling to be heard over the wind. Thor nodded his assent, and sped up, urging Mjolnir to propel us faster through the sky. Minutes later, Thor had deposited me near the entrance of Stark Tower, while he flew up to find the Helicarrier, and try to find out what had been going on.

I sprinted inside, screaming at Jarvis to send the elevator straight up to the main living floor of the tower. The elevator tore up through the shaft, as I paced inside it, fists clenching and unclenching sporadically. The doors opened soundlessly, and I stepped into the room, to be faced with my father and Loki conversing quite calmly.

"Stalling me won't change anything," warned Loki, watching my dad carefully.  
 **  
**"No, no, no! Threatening. No drink? You sure? I'm having one," blustered my dad, pouring himself a glass of scotch.  
 **  
** **"** The Chitauri are coming, nothing will change that. What have I to fear?"

"The Avengers. It's what we call ourselves, sort of like a team. 'Earth's Mightiest Heroes' type of thing,"

"Yes, I've met them," Loki looked at him witheringly.

"Yeah, takes us a while to get any traction, I'll give you that one. But, let's do a head count here. Your brother, the demi-god; a super soldier, a living legend who kind of lives up to the legend; a man with breath-taking anger management issues; a couple of master assassins, and you, big fella: you've managed to piss off every single one of them," said my dad, raising an eyebrow at him. Loki turned away, and my dad discreetly slipped on his Iron Man homing cuff.

 **"** That was the plan..." Loki drawled, eyes roving over the apartment, seemingly sliding straight over me.

"Not a great plan. When they come, and they will, they'll come for you-"  
 **  
"** I have an army," shot Loki, cutting him off.  
 **  
**"We have a Hulk," quipped my pa, raising his glass slightly, as if toasting him.

"I thought the beast had wandered off," he smirked, acting like an asshole once more.

"You're missing the point. There's no throne. There is no version of this, where _you_ come out on top." I snorted, and both men turned to look at me, shock written plainly on their faces. I skipped into the room, still sniggering.

"Dad, that did sound extremely wrong: admit it. Like, honestly..." I rolled my eyes, and grinned at my old man.

"Love, believe me, I'm always on top. Rather suited to the position, too," drawled Loki, eyes darkening, as they flitted greedily over me. My father quickly pulled me into an awkward one armed hug, while pulling me behind his body, shielding me from Loki.

"Shut it, Rudolph! You threw my girl out of a plane, and now you're making innuendos. Excuse me if I'm not too comfortable with that..."

"You won't be here to be uncomfortable with it much longer," Loki hissed, narrowing his eyes at my dad.

"Maybe your army comes and maybe it's too much for us, but it's all on you. Because if we can't protect the Earth, you can be damned well sure we'll avenge it!" said my dad, shoulders back, posture arrogant and proud. I beamed at the back of his head, and just caught the glower that Loki sent me in response.

"How will your friends have time for me, when they're so busy fighting you?" Loki strode forward, and shoved the tip of his sceptre at my dad's chest before I had time to stop him. There was a small clink, and my shriek was cut off half-way out of my throat. "It should work!"  
 **  
**"Well, performance issues. You know?" My dad sniggered, pushing me slightly away from his back. Loki growled, and hoisted my father into the air by his throat. I gasped, and moved forward, only to be blocked by my dad's arm. "Jarvis, anytime now!" he choked, going a bit red.

"You will all fall before me!" Loki yelled, and launched my dad out of the window, and off the side of the building.

"NO!" I screamed, and turned to run after him, but a cold arm was wrapped around my waist, stopping me from leaving.

"I thought you were dead," he muttered, pressing his cold lips to the skin of my neck. My blood boiled, and I flushed, wanting nothing more than to slump into his arms, but I tried to wriggle away nonetheless.

"I don't care, Loki! Just get me my magic back, and let me go! I need to fight!"

"You aren't going anywhere, my love," he rasped, spinning me around, and bringing my lips to his. I immediately started to melt into his cold embrace, but I pushed him off, stamping on a toe. He just frowned, and the sceptre tip glowed a bit.

"Why are you such an asshole?!" I fumed. "Why do you have to piss me off so much?!" I heard the familiar sound of blasters, and whirled around, to find my dad, floating there in his Iron Man suit, blasters in his palms pointing at Loki.

"And there's one _other_ person you pissed off! His name is Phil!"

Before my dad had a chance to do anything, Loki grabbed my arm, and we melted away. We appeared in a block of flats just around the corner from Stark corner, but it was far enough away that Jarvis wouldn't be able to get a reading from us.

"Loki!" I grumbled, turning away from him. His arms circled my waist, the sceptre dropping from his hands. I felt the change in his mannerisms immediately: he relaxed into me, and his fingers started tracing small circles over my abdomen.

"Evelyn, love..." he breathed, pressing butterfly kisses to the skin down my neck. I shivered gently, and I could feel him smile, increasing the pressure and longevity of his kisses. He lifted one hand, and traced an index finger along my jugular, drawing Mjolnir's power from me, replacing it with his magic, changed slightly to resemble the power the Tesseract had granted me. My body shuddered, confused by the transfusion of the magic, and the pleasure he was bestowing to distract me. I groaned softly at the two feelings, the burning glow of the magic leaving and entering my skin, and his wintry lips on the other side of my neck.

"Loki," I moaned, tipping my head back against his shoulder. He chuckled, and I realised the flow of magic had stopped, and he was just teasing me. I stilled, and zapped him with some of my magic. He just spun me around, and pressed a tender kiss to my lips. We parted, and he stared deeply into my eyes.

"I love you." He enunciated the declaration clearly, and I smiled, tearing up. I closed my eyes, exhaling shakily, and steeling my resolve.

"I love you too, Loki. And I'm sorry." He was just about to question me, but I broke free of his grip, and nabbed the sceptre from where it lay on the floor, before dissolving, just making out his hurt, angered, and scared expression before I re-materialised on the streets of New York.


	6. Chapter 6

**_Six_**

I reformed feet away from where Captain America, Black Widow and Hawkeye were assembled, talking strategy.

"Stark," acknowledged Steve, glancing warily at the sceptre clasped in my right hand. I concentrated on myself, as he spoke to the two assassins, getting geared up in my 'Iron Maiden' get-up, as I had dubbed it. Tight black leather pants, knee-high black boots, an armoured black tank-top, leather fingerless gloves, hair falling down my back in a waterfall. I dropped the tiny silver cube, and just before it hit the ground, I tapped the small button inside the palm of my glove, and it opened up, hovering just low enough for me to step up easily.

I did so, and looked up, seeing the Chitauri pouring from a portal in the sky over Stark Tower. A roll of thunder, and the flash of lightening hitting the tower let me know that Thor was in on the action. I grinned, slightly maniacally, the sceptre finally starting to affect my mental state. I saluted the Captain, and kicked my board to life, roaring along the street, and then up into the air.

I made a wide bank, and got used to the added weight of the sceptre in my right hand. I swung the sceptre over my head, and slashed it through the air at a party of Chitauri troops. A blue energy coil burst forth, and disintegrated them. I cackled, and picked up speed, filled with a new purpose. I heard from the com in my ear the mutters of the others, not so subtly commenting on my crazed actions. I ignored them, and swept through enemy ranks, crippling them.

After who knew how long, I noticed my dad flying across the road crossing in-front of me, leading a giant creature, half whale half worm, behind him. I paused in my decimation of the Chitauri forces to join him.

"Papa Smurf," I greeted, flying backwards on my board, shooting bolt after bolt of energy at the creature.

"Chickadee," his robotic voice answered, concentrating on the information Jarvis was giving him about the creature. "I need weak-spots, not a life story!" he snapped at the A.I, turning a sharp corner to keep it interested in chasing him. I scoffed, and darted forwards, close to the thing's mouth. It roared, and snapped at me. Acting in under a second, I fired a massive bolt down its' maw. It choked, and shook, smoke curling from its' mouth. The lights along its body died, and it started to fall.

Gathering up a bit of my own power, I sent a wave of blue fire at it, and watched greedily as it disintegrated, ash littering the streets below. I could make out the panicked shouts of the citizens below, as they recognised the staff, but also the fact that I was working with, and not against Iron Man, hovering at my side.

"Nice goin', kid!" he congratulated, slapping my shoulder gently. I felt the sceptre straining to lash out, and blast him, but I wrestled the entity inside it back into submission.

"Thanks, Pa. I'm going to go up to the tower, and check on the Tesseract. Am I right in thinking Selvig is tryin'a shut that baby down?" I asked, looking around at the trashed city.

"Yup. You take care of yourself, Evie. Don't do something I wouldn't!" he joked, backing away from me a little, in preparation to take off.

"Free reigns. Cool!" I took off before he could realise the mistake he made and rectify it. I zoomed for the top of the tower, where I saw Thor battling someone. As I grew closer, the dark evergreen clothes came into sharper contrast, and I knew it was Loki.

"THOR!" I yelled, bearing down on them. Loki looked away from Thor a split second, and it was all he needed. Thor swung Mjolnir, a roar ripping its way free from his throat, and sent Loki sailing off the tower. I screamed in outrage, magic crackling around the staff I held in my hands. I distantly saw Loki drop into an unmanned Chitauri one-man aircraft, and speed away.

I jumped from my hover board, sailing a good twenty metres, staff in front of me, a wordless cry of fury emanating from my lungs. I landed on the landing pad in a run, swinging the sceptre in a deadly fast motion at Thor's chest. Thor only parried, seemingly reluctant to harm me. I used the malicious being inside the mind stone to my advantage, allowing it to cloud my better judgement, our aims lining up for once, and shooting surge after surge of energy at the god. I sliced at his arms, chest, and face, and for some reason, the dark nature of the sceptre was causing his wounds to heal extremely slowly.

I saw Thor glance at his chest worriedly, and a sorrowful resolve filled his eyes. He swiped the sweat from his brow, and feinted to the right, before darting left at an inhuman speed, and smashing Mjolnir into the side of my chest. My ribs shattered instantly, and I felt something make a searing slash across my right lung.

I fell heavily, grating at my already pulverised ribs, and I convulsed, choking and screaming, blood spraying from my mouth. The sceptre hummed angrily, vibrating in my hand as it tried to retaliate, but I could hardly breathe, let alone stand up to use it. Thor stood over me, complete and utter heartbreak written all over his face.

I kept shaking and jerking, rolling onto my side, to try and rid my mouth of the pooling blood. I knew if I couldn't get help soon, I would die. I wept, shaking, coughing, screaming, and wishing more than anything for something to happen, in order to tip the scales of my life one way or another. A cold started seeping through the cold metal under my obliterated chest, and I allowed myself a macabre grin.

"Loki," I rasped, yet more blood trickling from my mouth. I rolled onto my back again, to see Loki standing opposite Thor, standing over my body. His skin was a bright cerulean blue, his irises a brighter crimson than the blood searing the metal tiling around me. Frost spikes shot up from the ground around his feet, spreading out quickly, wrapping carefully around my body, and then starting to grow steadily, lengthening and thickening, until a blanket of snow was coating me.

"You dare harm her..." he breathed, eyes burning brighter, the runes and markings on his arms and neck glowing a lighter blue than the rest of him. "You dare touch a hair on her head..."

"Loki, I-"

"Silence..." The soft hiss was more intimidating than a bellow would have been. This whisper promised pain, isolation, a cold, remote place to die alone...

Loki threw up his hand, and Thor froze, skin withering and turning blue, icicles dangling from his chin, hands, and Mjolnir. His eyes misted over white, and one last puff of breath was released, foggy even in the tepid air. Loki knelt by my side, his Jotun self still refusing to fade. He was too incensed, and too worried for my well-being.

"Loki," I breathed, trying my hardest not to cough, and lose more blood, or rip myself up further, even though the tightening in my chest was becoming unbearable.

"Hush, love," he said, his voice an octave deeper than usual. His cold hand came to rest on the side of my face, and some of my pain ebbed. I moaned, and his eyes narrowed at my response. Cautiously, his hands moved lower, the cold radiating through me, reaching my busted ribs and lungs. When his hands were resting over my heart, I was finally at ease, the pain seeming to recede completely, as the cold filled every receptor in my body.

"Is it gone?" he asked, hands seemingly glued to my chest. I nodded wearily, wishing more than anything to pass out. "Love, can you tell me what's wrong? In my Jotun form, I cannot cast my usual magic as effectively as- Shit!" He withdrew his hands, seeing the glowing blue veins sticking out from under my skin, and the frost spreading along my torso. I screamed in pain again, the hot blinding wrench of it too much.

"LOKI!" I shrieked, and he seemed so panicked, so frantic, intent on doing nothing to hurt me. He put his hands back over my chest, and I stilled, breathing steadily once more. He lowered his body temperature, though that did nothing to stop the advance of the frost.

"I do not know what to do..." he muttered, eyes flickering frantically over my stomach and neck, the ice having made more progress. "I don't know if I should stop, or... Evelyn, love, forgive me..."

"Loki, just try to change. Or give me enough time to try to heal myself..." I shivered, teeth clattering as the cold seeped into my spine, becoming slightly painful. Loki gritted his teeth, and the blue of his skin started to fade. "Come on, Loki, you can do it..." I encouraged, choking down the screams, as the numbing of the cold started to fade. Loki was soon back to normal, and my lip was in tatters from where my teeth had cut in, and tears were rolling down my cheeks.

"Evelyn, shit, I'm sorry," he choked out, face twisted in pain as he grasped my hands. I just nodded sharply, vision blurring as the pain started to get the better of me. I felt the cold sparks and relaxed, slumping in relief, as I felt my bones and muscles shift, my lungs jerking back into their correct place, and re-inflating, giving my ribs some support around which to reform.

"Loki... Thank you..." I breathed, giving him a soft and tired smile. He shook my hands gently, urging me to keep my eyes open.

"Don't sleep just yet, love. We're still in the middle of a war-zone, and we have to get you to safety. The Chitauri are close to giving in, but they will give one last burst of resistance. I need to take you somewhere safe, alright?"

"But Loki... Thor, my dad... the others..." I trailed off, spitting some left-over blood out of my mouth. Loki winced, and ran his hand along my cheek.

"I will unfreeze the oaf, if it will ease your mind. But you aren't to fight any longer. Your father and his friends will be perfectly fine. I had an army but they..." There was a familiar bestial roar from the streets below, and we both grinned. "...They have a Hulk."

Loki turned to his brother, and ran his hand downwards, motioning a melting action from head to toe. Thor shuddered violently, before gasping, the blue receding from his skin, his blue eyes no longer misted over, and the icicles simply fading from him.

"Loki..." Thor growled, his eyes narrowed. Loki snarled back at him, jumping to his feet, and a defensive stance.

"Do not lecture me, brother. If I had done the same to your precious Jane, do not even try to deny you would have done the same, if not worse to me!" he spat, eyes narrowing dangerously. "You harm another hair on her head, or make her uncomfortable in any way, and I will geld you, in the best case scenario. Are we clear?!" Thor gulped and nodded, earning him a grim smile. "Thank you, brother. Now, why don't you help your superhero friends, and I get my woman to safety."

I glowed at the possessive claim, and Thor nodded at Loki, before offering me an apologetic smile and bow, and leaping into the sky. Loki helped me up, and aided my limping inside, leaving the sceptre lying on the launch pad. We had barely made it to the elevator, when the com in my ear crackled.

"I can close it! Can anybody hear me? I can shut the portal down!" Natasha said, her voice urgent, and I heard the furious clicking of computer keys in the background.

"Do it!" ordered Steve, and I heard the clang as his shield most likely came into contact with a now decimated Chitauri skull.

"No wait!" shouted my dad over the rush of air, indicating he was flying at speed the suit could barely maintain.

"Stark these things are still coming!" snapped Steve, and I heard him grunt, then a muffled explosion.

"I got a nuke coming in, it's gonna blow in less than a minute!" If I thought my heart had failed, his next sentence had me rethinking. "And I know just where to put it..."

"NO!" I screamed, shaking free of Loki, and hurrying back towards the launch pad. I heard him calling after me, but I ignored him. I leaped onto my hover board, and shot forwards, just as my dad grabbed the nuke, and started re-adjusting its course.

"Stark, you know that's a one-way trip..." said Steve, and the com line was eerily quiet. I zoomed after him, barely making progress against his power thrusters.

"Sir, we're losing altitude," Jarvis informed at the entrance of the portal.

"Yeah, I noticed," he muttered, still unaware of my presence. I followed straight after him, the vacuum of space rendering me unable to breathe. My dad's suit started to fail, and still keeping my mouth clamped firmly shut, I sped up, ripping the nuke from his grasp, and shoving him back down towards the portal. I heard his cry of fear and pain, but there was nothing he could do: he plummeted towards earth, with just enough power to keep the basic functions in the suit operational.

My head swam, and with one last push, I launched the nuke towards the mother ship looming above me. I was aware of my body freezing over, my muscles locking, and my brain starting to shut down.

"Shut it, Nat," whispered Steve, and I could hear the tears in his voice.

"NO! YOU HAVE TO HELP HER!" my dad shouted, and I could hear the clang some part of his suit made. It kept me alert for a few seconds, and for a moment, I felt scared. I did not want to die. Not here, not now... But as my eyes closed, I realised there was nothing I could do.

"I'm sorry, Stark," said Natasha, and even she was struggling to keep from breaking down. I felt the wavering in the power of the portal, as the edges started to dissolve. For some reason I was being pulled towards it, and I felt the fluctuation in energy as I passed back through the portal. The rush of air, and warmth had my heart racing, and the sudden lurch of my stomach let me know I was falling, and fast.

"FUCK!" yelled Steve and my dad, and I could hear cursing as my dad tried to take off.

"She's not slowing down!" grunted Thor, and I felt as though he were trying to restrain Loki. After half a minute, I cracked open an eye, to be met with the view of the sidewalk rushing for my face. I tensed for impact, but suddenly, a large, warm, and muscled mass wrapped around me, and there was a large jerk as that body hit the concrete instead of me.

I heard the shouts, and the rumbling breath of the thing below me. Through closed lashes, I made out the vibrant green skin of the Hulk. I tried to smile, but I felt exhausted. A warm and cold pair of hands were present on my skin at similar times, and Bruce v.2 let me go, releasing me into the hold of Loki and my father.

"Evie! EVIE! Come on, honey, please open your eyes! Please, you can't do this to me, baby girl! Don't leave me, Chickadee-"

"Evelyn, my sweet, darling Evelyn..." Loki's broken croon broke through more effectively than my father's ramblings. I cracked open my eyes, and the two men sighed in relief. I saw the whole team crowded around me, looks of worry, relief and shock on their faces. I saw the large face of the Other Guy looking at me upside-down, and I gave him a weak grin.

"Is it just me that craves waffles after disposing of a nuclear war-head in an inter-dimensional portal?" I fired off, my exhausted brain blurting out the first thing it came up with. Loki and Thor looked at me, obviously worried for my mental health, Steve looked disapproving, Clint and Natasha looked a little blank, and my dad laughed, ruffling my hair.

"No. Me too kid. Glad to see you're back to-"

"Anyone have any gum?" I interrupted, suddenly craving the candy. "I mean, there's an amazing candy store around the corner, and I really need some sugar right now! Possibly some caffeine... Oh, and-"

I was cut off as Loki's cold soft lips came down on mine. There were a few wolf-whistles, and some clearing of throats, as I clutched him to me. I pushed myself into him, refusing to pull away even when my lungs started to burn slightly. His cool, smooth tongue flickered across my bottom lip, and I opened my mouth to him, unaware of the people who still stood there awkwardly. I had to pull away eventually, as my head started to swim. I took a shaky breath, and looked into his green eyes as he grinned at me.

"Never again, Evelyn," he said, bringing his hand up to the side of my face, thumb brushing across my cheek. "You will never again put me through that. I thought you were gone. I love you, and if something had happened..." He sighed, and leaned his forehead against mine, closing his eyes. "...You're all I have left. You can't be taken away from me too, understand?"

"I'm sorry..." I breathed, lightly kissing his lips. "I love you..."

"Right, well, as cosy as this is, we need to get back up to the tower!" interrupted my dad, reaching past Loki to pull me to my feet. "My suit is completely screwed, and I'm pretty sure everyone is a bit beat up. Pizza party, anyone?"

Everyone mumbled their assent, and started to disperse. I turned to look at the Hulk, and he was just standing there looking a bit out of place. I slowly walked closer, ignoring Loki's warnings, and the Other Guy's frantic expression.

"Hey Big Guy," I said softly, smiling, and holding my hands up to show I wasn't a threat. "I'm a friend of Bruce. I would like to talk to him, if that's okay? Bruce will be safe with me, you don't need to protect him anymore. The bad people are gone, okay? Do you think you can let Bruce come back? I promise to look after him..." I stopped talking, watching with great interest as the Other Guy's face relaxed, and he let me walk closer. I placed my hand on his forearm, and he tensed slightly.

"Sh, it's okay. I'm nice, I can look after him..." I cooed, trying to soothe the behemoth. I didn't really notice the fact that everyone had come together again to watch me interact with the Hulk.

"Bruce... friend?" the Big Guy rumbled, his heavy brow crinkling in confusion.

"Yes, Bruce's friend. I'll protect him," I explained, rubbing his forearm soothingly. "Can I talk to Bruce?" The Hulk grunted, and his skin rippled minutely. I stepped back slightly, as he started to tense and twitch, face pulling together in pain. I watched with morbid curiosity as he fell to his knees, roaring as he began shrinking, muscles rippling, skin blotting with his normal pale peach colour.

"Ugh..." grunted Bruce, when he was finally back to normal, lying spread-eagled on the tarmac, covered in a fine layer of sweat. I walked up to him, and knelt at his side, pushing his damp hair away from his forehead. He had a bit of trouble focusing on me, and when he did, his eyes widened in pure shock, and his mouth fell open. I helped him sit up, and he was still just gaping at me.

"You okay there, Doc?" I asked, chuckling under my breath. He raised a shaking hand, and pointed at me.

"You... You... You calmed him down, you... He _listened_..!" he spluttered, pushing his glasses onto his face.

"Well, it's just my utter irresistible charm!" I joked, flipping my hair in a sassy motion. Bruce just shook his head, looking incredulous.

"You're an amazing specimen, Stark..." he said, ruffling his hair absently. I beamed, and grinned wider when I heard Loki behind me.

"Don't we know it, Banner. Don't we know it..."


	7. Chapter 7

**_Seven_**

"No, Loki, they can't!" I sobbed, wrapping my arms around him more securely. He made quiet cooing noises, his hand running over the back of my head, and smoothing down my hair while I sobbed into his chest.

"You won't be able to stop them, love. I know what I've done, and I deserve th-"

"No-one deserves this!" I spat, looking up at him, angry tears spilling from my eyes now. "Loki, no-one deserves to be locked away for the rest of their days. At least let me come and visit you. I can't... I wouldn't... _survive_... if I could never see you again..."

"Evie, love, please don't cry over me, please love... It's hard enough..." Loki's voice broke, and he exhaled shakily, arms pulling me closer. "Evie, I can't guarantee anything. I can ask, but I'm a prisoner, a war criminal. What I say has no power,"

"You're still a prince of Asgard," I argued stubbornly. "If Odin can't see that, and allow me to at least speak for you, then he's a douchebag, unworthy of being King. He sounded douchy enough to begin with..."

Loki chuckled, and kissed me softly. I sighed into the kiss, my chest tightening painfully, knowing these could well be our last moments alone together.

"I love you, Lady Evelyn Elizabeth Stark, saviour and warrior of Midgard, my lover..." Loki whispered, pressing soft kisses all over my face. I smiled, and cradled his face in my hands.

"And I love you, Lord Loki Laufeyson, crown prince of Jotunheim, adoptive prince of Asgard, defender of Midgard, my lover..."

I kissed him softly, yet more tears trailing down our faces.

"Loki," called Thor, standing outside in the hallway. "Loki, it is time for us to go..."

"Coming, brother," Loki said tiredly, gently pulling me off of his lap. I sniffled, and scrubbed at my face. He smiled sadly, tucking a stray piece of hair behind my ear.

"I'll see you in the park, then," I whispered, catching his hand with mine. Loki nodded, and walked from the room, to head to Central Park with his brother. I leapt into action, heading for my bedside table, and rifling through the drawers. I up-ended everything, trying to find the chains I had been given for my 16th birthday. I found it at last, and hurriedly searched for my charm bracelet. I pulled that from my clutter, and then pulled the small box of charms I had purchased, from underneath my pillow.

I tipped them onto the bed, and started sorting them. I hooked a silver hammer charm onto one chain, as well as on my charm bracelet, and put a complex communication spell on both of them. I hooked a small golden snowflake onto the other chain, it's twin settling onto my bracelet. I placed a similar spell on those, before hanging an emerald heart on the two metal accessories.

I placed them in my pockets, and hurried out of my bedroom, making for the communal living space. I walked out onto the landing, and jumped onto my hover board, slowly flying to the park. I alighted close to the other Avengers, where they stood in a small huddle, facing the two Asgardians, who were standing there, face-to-face, looking irritated.

"Thor!" I called, leaving my board lying in the grass. I ran forwards, and hugged the brute, burying my face into his chest. He chuckled throatily, and patted me on the back, lifting me into the air.

"Lady Stark," he said, hugging me tighter.

"Thor, please look after him. Please, make sure they treat him right..." I whispered, refusing to let him go.

"I promise, Lady Stark. I will do my best..." he rumbled, setting me on my feet. I pulled the thick silver chain from my pocket, and held it out to him.

"In case you need to contact me, or any of us really," I said, letting the chain coil into his palm. "Just hold the hammer in your hand, and think of what you want to say. I'll hear you..."

"My thanks, Lady Stark," he said, closing his hand around the chain. I smiled, and looked to Loki. His face was hard, and cold, but I could see in his eyes how much this hurt him.

"Loki," I breathed, and rushed him. He opened his arms, and curled me to him, so tight I felt as though he would never let go.

"This is not goodbye," he promised fiercely, emerald eyes burning into me. "I will not let this be goodbye!" I nodded, tears pooling in my eyes again. I hurriedly pulled out the chain, made of gold rather than silver, and settled it over his neck.

"The snowflake works the same as Thor's and the heart will work just by imagining a message filtering through it. It doesn't even need to be near you to work. Promise to stay in touch..?" I whispered, trying to keep the tears from falling. He nodded, and pressed his lips to mine. We kissed heatedly for a few minutes, before he finally let me go.

"Until next time," he said, promising with his eyes that there would be a next time. I smiled weakly back, one tear slipping free.

"Next time," I repeatedly, not taking my eyes from his. My dad stepped forward, as the brothers slipped their arms into a long silver tube. My eyes never left Loki's. We kept one hand on the emerald charm, as my father slipped the Tesseract into its holder within the tube. Thor twisted the handle, and light shone down on them.

Gold mist issued from the charm in Loki's hand, and spelled out a message in the air.

 ** _I love you, Loki, now and forever..._**

I tried to contain my sobs as the pair vanished, at about the same time the same golden mist erupted from my fist. It drifted up in front of me, solidifying into his message to me.

 ** _Now and forever..._**

The mist dissipated, and was swirled away with the wind, taking the smell of ice, parchment and magic with it. I finally broke down, collapsing to the floor, as the previously thrumming stone grew cold and still in my hand.

 **Hey guys, I have loved writing this fic, and I hope you like it. I used the Avengers plotline, and all credits and rights go to the wonderful people over at Marvel studios! Love you guys! I apologise for any OOC moments, I tried to keep it as real as possible. I may write a sequel, but I'm not sure. You guys let me know, and I'll see what I can do. In the meantime: Adios, and until next time..!**

 **(P.S. Freaking love Loki! So bae!)**


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